Friday, January 14, 2011

crystal pendant tutorial

Crafting with friends is one of my favorite things in the world. Stacy may not be a regular contributor to this blog anymore, but she's still our dear friend, the crafting queen, and a major inspiration to us! We got together with her for some crafting this week and made these gorgeous crystal pendants. I couldn't believe how easy they were!

First, pick out a patterned paper that you love. The possibilities are endless; you should have seen us trying to choose one! Once, you have chosen, trace the pendant on the paper and cut it out with scissors.

Add some Diamond Glaze / Crystal Effects / Glossy Accents glue to the back of your pendant. Use sparingly, if you add too much it will bleed out the edges after you press the paper on.

Now press your paper face down on the back of the pendant so it can be seen through the other side. Press firmly to release any air bubbles.

Once it it firmly in place, you can trim any excess paper from the sides with a pair of scissors or Exacto knife, and then file with a nail file to make sure there is no paper sticking out. Be careful not to file the crystal--it will scuff easily. To protect the paper, we suggest applying a thin layer of Diamond Glaze to the back of the pendant as well.

Once, the glue has dried you can pinch your bail through the hole in the pendant. If you're using a square glass tile (you'll find these from tons of sellers on Etsy), use some Diamond Glaze glue to attach a glue-on jewelry bail like these.

Hang your pendant on a chain and you're done!

You can also make an adorable necklace with square or oval glass pieces, which can be found online at Etsy. I made a bunch of these on a girls weekend last year and they are wonderful! I love that I can pick one to match many outfits and they also make fabulous gifts! You can make these following the same steps above and gluing a glue-on bail on the back.

Wow, I'm so excited to see a good tutorial for these, and the type of bail I've never seen before. I have lots of crystals, but have been puzzled how to turn them into pendants. I'm sure I can find those bails on Etsy.

These came out so pretty! I've been looking at buying the crystal, but was wondering what size to look for. Do you know how many mm the one's you used are? We don't have any Ben Franklin's in my area, but we do have a Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and JoAnne's.

Thank you for the terrific tutorial! I just made two crystal pendants with paper backings. Still testing the backing...wondering if I should paint them... I'll certainly make more. Thank you for the inspiration! Anyhoo, I posted a photo of one of the pendants on my blog and provided two links to both your tutorial and blog.

Hello, Great minds do think alike, I was in Amsterdam and got a bunch of crystals like and whipped up the same thing but mine had holes in the top from hanging on a light fixture and this is what I wanted to add to your creation.... What I did was put two crystals together with the paper between them and they look great too.SUccess.

I thought the glue left the back of the pendant a little tacky, so I added a layer of clear fingernail polish on the back of my pendants. I feel that this makes them a little more perspiration proof during the warm weather. I still tell my customers that they are not WATER proof, however...